Interview By: Anna Julia
Denis Sanacore is a guitarist, violinist, songwriter and nominee for the World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the Year, as well as the composer of one of my favorite OSTs of all time, the one from the movie The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet, directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, anyone?). I got in contact with him as a result of the review I wrote of the OST (also for ShuffleBeat, you can read it here), which he read, and I was able to send him some questions. Here he talks about the music he wrote for the soundtrack, his own musical style and inspiration, and family relationships.
Anna Júlia Chafer: Some of your songs remind a lot of Irish traditional music. Did you take that as an inspiration or was it completely unconscious?
Denis Sanacore: I have always been very fond of Celtic and folk music; as a matter of fact, I spent all my teen years practicing Irish fiddling. You know, jigs and reels.
So I think it was unconscious, because it is a part of who I am as a musician, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet [director of the movie] did like this facet of me.
Did you get to see the movie before composing the score or it wasn’t completed when you wrote the songs?
The film was not even shot when I began to compose, Jean-Pierre Jeunet only gave me the storyboard and said to me: “Read it and let yourself compose something that you feel”.
How did you end up writing the soundtrack, and how was the dialogue with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the recording of the songs?
In February 2012, I received a call from the production office in Montréal. The lady said to me that a director wished to meet me because he heard some of my compositions on MySpace. I didn’t know then that it was Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I went to the office and Jean-Pierre introduced himself, I was very pleased and impressed. He was looking for a Canadian composer, searching and surfing on the internet. He found me on MySpace, [where] I had put some folk compositions a couple of years earlier, you know, fingerstyle guitar and fiddle. He told me: “I like what you do but I cannot promise you anything, so I am giving you the storyboard, compose what you feel and we will see”.
So every week I sent some themes, and finally six months later he called me and said: “We’ve put your music on a rough cut, and it is sticking to the picture.”
How it’s your creation process? What are your inspirations when it comes to write a new song (other musical artists, things, people…)?
Sometimes I begin with a guitar riff, playing it over and over like a mantra until the melody comes to my head. Other times, I sing a melody on my iPad recorder, then I harmonize and arrange it afterwards. It depends of my state of mind, what I feel in the moment. Sometimes I will be in the car driving and suddenly a melody strikes me so I hum it until I forget it. Now I always try to carry a recorder.
Situations in life inspire me, wildlife, beauty... I like beauty. For instance, to inspire me for T.S. Spivet I searched for beautiful Montana [where the movie takes place] landscape pictures on the web.
The music you play and compose is really characteristic and defines really well a personal style. Do you have any major influences? Who are your favorite music artists or bands? Why?
Thank you! My first musical hero and major influence since I was very young is James Taylor. I really love his guitar playing. It is so unique and personal, very crystalline playing, and I wish I could sing like him.
I have always been attracted by singer songwriters like John Denver, Willie Nelson, blues guitar players... like the one and only Stevie Ray Vaughan. Every one of these musical influences is a part of me as a composer.
My influences on violin are the great Irish fiddlers Kevin Burke and Martin Hayes, and the great Jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. As for film composers I love Ennio Morricone, to me he is the best there is. I also love Patrick Cassidy, you know, Vide Cor Meum in Hannibal. We were both nominated last year at the World Soundtrack Award for the Discovery of the Year, he is a very nice person and a gentleman.
Your daughter, Lea, collaborated in a song of the album. What was his paper in the collaboration?
Lea wrote the lyrics of the generic song “Here Now and Then” and performed the singing.
How do you feel the musical relationship you have with your daughter? How do you two work with each other?
We have the same musical taste, she’s been raised listening to Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, etc. She became a singer-songwriter in her own right, so it is always cool to share musical projects together. I love her guitar playing and especially her lyric writing.
What kind of projects do you like to work on? Is Spivet your first project as a musician and composer or have you done anything similar before?
Spivet is my first film project, I had never thought I would become a film composer; sometimes life brings you surprises! I really like the process of composing for a film. You have to let your ego aside and be willing to compose music to enhance a film. One of my dreams would be to compose songs for great artists that I like.
And, last, what are you currently working on? Would you like to compose more soundtracks? Have you got any future plans?
I currently compose guitar music for myself, planning to release an instrumental guitar CD.
I would like to compose more soundtracks, especially in my style (acoustic guitar with strings), and I would like to do a bit more orchestral film music. I would not dare to do Hans Zimmer style anyway, I like this kind of film music but I think my style will always be towards intimate and minimalistic music.
We’ll stay tuned then. This has been awesome, many thanks!
Thank you for this interview. It is a great pleasure for me.
You can find Denis on:
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